orbis_campaign_settingfandomcom-20200214-history
Demon Princes of the Endless Abyss
The Demon Princes of the Endless Abyss hold sway over what burns inside the chaotic hearts of mortals, turning them to spread corruption and want to see the realms burn in demonic ire. Fanatics blinded by power worship these unholy beings due to madness or paranoia seeded there by the servants of these Princes. Demogorgon, Prince of Demons Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Madness The Prince of Demons is a being of unfettered violence and rage, the mightiest of the demon lords. His twin heads, Aameul and Hathradiah, compete in some ways and cooperate in others. The result is an entity that is capable of devising and enacting the cleverest strategies, paranoid at all times and possessed by immense physical power. The ultimate goal of Demogorgon is to empty the multiverse of all other creatures, even his followers. Free from any prospect of being betrayed or insulted, he can finally rest in a perfectly peaceful cosmos. According to scholars, that if Demogorgon ever achieved this goal, his two heads would battle it out to the death, devouring each other and leaving behind nothing but a void. His followers in Orbis are usually not by choice, they become deranged and mad just by laying eyes on his true symbol. Transfixed on the idea of a being of such immense power and madness, they enact his will without question, becoming his mindless thralls. Baphomet, the Horned King Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Superiority '' Known as the Horned King, Baphomet divides the creatures of the world into two groups. Those that acknowledge his power are his servants and are gifted with savagery and a hunter’s cunning. The rest are prey, creatures to be hunted and slaughtered. His goal is to transform the multiverse into his own personal hunting ground. Baphomet is a savage entity, but he tempers his ferocity with shrewdness. He loves the hunt and the feeling of impending doom that comes over the prey that can’t escape his pursuit. Baphomet is fond of mazes and studies every little detail of the ones he creates and relishes in the dread of those that fall into them. The cults that follow Baphomet see themselves as superior to everyone else, to the extent that they consider everyone else nothing but animals. His cultist range from nobles that use their servants as playthings and assassins who practice their art for the sheer joy of hunting intelligent creatures. Fraz-Urb'luu, Prince of Deception ''Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Deception '' The most deceptive of the Demon Lords, Fraz-Urb’luu is a master illusionist and weaver of lies. He thrives by luring his cultists and enemies alike into lives of self-delusion. He can take on nearly any form he wishes, usually appearing in whatever shape is most pleasing to a potential follower. He considers himself the smartest entity in the whole cosmos, the only one who can see through all of reality and its lies. Understanding the truth that lies beyond them. He utters cryptic remarks about a grand design that is playing gods and mortals alike into some unknown end of it all. But none know if this is just another lie he weaves or a true insight. Many of his followers are played into becoming his occult following, telling them whatever they want to hear. A few are illusionists, deceivers and con artists that willingly seek him out. He makes use of their talents and rewards them. Graz'zt, Prince of Pleasures ''Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Pleasure '' The lord of pleasure and limitless indulgence, Graz’zt is the ultimate hedonist. He incites lust and uncontrollable urges in both his cultists and enemies. In his eyes, the multiverse is a great plaything, and one day he will be its master. All other creatures and things will be allowed to exist only if they give him pleasure. When the cosmos are his, all who are left will love and worship him. He is the master of his urges however, not blinded by them. When the time comes to scheme and counter-attack, he does so by channelling his frustration by being away from pleasurable activities. His most esteemed cultists are the same, he takes their indulgences away from them so they can work to get them back. He promises dark delights and forbidden ecstasies in return for total submission to him. His cults gather new members by spreading tracts, poems and other works of art that depict encounters with him. Most would consider these works vulgar or dirty, but the curious souls are always lured to these forbidden delights. Juiblex, the Faceless Lord ''Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: ??? The Faceless Lord is a truly alien entity, said to be responsible for spawning the oozes found throughout the multiverse. His goal is to allow himself and his ooze spawn to reign free over the multiverse, infecting it and turning it into a soggy mess of slime and ruin. The oozes and slimes in the multiverse are his eyes and ears, and is said that he can see everything they can, to be his vessels. His followers are few, and most of them are disturbed or delusional. They preach of the glorious day when the tidal wave of slime swallows the world. They believe if they pay tribute and follow Juiblex to the end of his goals, they will be spared when the day finally comes. Orcus, Prince of Undeath Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Undeath The bloated Demon Prince of Undead seeks to end all life in the cosmos, replacing the living with immortal undead creatures that answer only to him. In this grim imagining, the many suns of the multiverse are dark and cold, all hope has faded away. All that remains is the eternally static silent realm of the living dead. Orcus is the multiverse’s strongest believer of stagnation. He sees life as noisy, crude and maddening. It claws and scars his senses like a rat scratching at a hardwood floor. Worshipers of the Prince of Undeath are heretics and blasphemers who see the Elysium and Zodiac as cruel and unjust. They resent that mortals suffer and die at the snap of their fingers. In Orcus, they see the promise of the release from pain without the demand for obedience. They will be free of hunger, fear and worry. Yeenoghu, Beast of Butchery Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Savagery Yeenoghu the Beast of Butchery inspires his followers to devour any creatures they encounter. In his mind, the multiverse is only made up of predators and prey. To sate his blood lust, Yeenoghu sends his hordes of gnolls and demonic followers on rampages through the Abyss and Orbis alike. His force of carnage is like a meandering storm, laying waste and ruin in one place and never knowing where it will go next. This is what his followers do, wreak havoc with no structure or idea, just pure carnage. Few creatures of Orbis worship and follow the way of Yeenoghu, but the ones that do are disaffected loners, outcasts of societies. A cult of his following act like a ravenous pack of gnolls, infused with a cannibalistic hunger and with every victim claimed, that much closer to their master’s presence. Zuggtmoy, Queen of Rot Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Corruption '' The mother of all fungi, rot and mold. A corrupting force that wants to see the multiverse covered with spores and fungi. To have all the creatures meld into one living creature connected over multiple worlds, for Zuggtmoy to love and rule with. Most of Zuggtmoy’s followers follow her against their will, as they have been infected by her fungi, cultivating in the brain and devouring to implant the seeds of her will. A few mortals enter her service freely. Most are druids who want to exterminate civilization entirely and see it replaces with a world of wild plants and fungus. Or power hungry individuals who believe they will retain their identity while they bring others under the Queen of Rot’s rule, turning them into her thralls. Lolth, Queen of Spiders ''Alignment: Chaotic Evil / Doctrine: Subjugation '' The Queen of Spiders has probably the largest everlasting impact on the world of Orbis. The drow worship her and have built their matriarchal society around her wishes. Lolth demands sacrifices of treasure and blood, relishing in the screams of the victims echo through her lightless temples. Lolth bends mortals to her will, or her drow priestesses do it for her. Enslaving the lesser beings of the Underdark, to one day black out the sun and let it be eternal darkness. The most cunning and patient of the Demons. Her followers are the entire drow race, with most hearing her whispering instructions and seductions to do her bidding, to dance on her web of schemes. ' '''